That’s exactly how the former chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee is selling himself these days in a bid to reclaim the committee’s gavel. The California Republican and his two opponents for the chairmanship have vowed to slash federal spending and swear off earmarks if they become chairman.

Those declarations amount to a reversal of sorts for all three, a testament to the anti-Washington fervor that swept through centrist and Republican-leaning districts across the country last month. The Republican Steering Committee will make its recommendations later today on who should lead the Appropriations, Energy and Commerce and Financial Services committees. In all three races, the candidates are running to the right of their competition, sometimes in the face of long records that suggest otherwise…